familypediawikiaorg-20200214-history
February 2
Events * 672 - Death of Saint Chad, whose feast day this is. * 962 - Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years. *1032 - Conrad II becomes King of Burgundy. *1119 - Callixtus II becomes Pope. *1509 - Battle of Diu takes place near Diu, India, between Portugal and Turkey. *1536 - Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina. *1542 - Portuguese under Christovão da Gama capture a Moslem-occupied hillfort in northern Ethiopia in the Battle of Baçente. *1653 - New Amsterdam (later renamed New York City) is incorporated. *1709 - Alexander Selkirk is rescued from shipwreck on a desert island, inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. *1790 - The U.S. Supreme Court convenes for the first time after an unsuccessful attempt on February 1. *1812 - Russia establishes a fur trading colony at Fort Ross, along the California coast. *1848 - Mexican-American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed ending the war. * 1848 - California Gold Rush: The first ship with Chinese emigrants seeking fortune in California's gold country arrive in San Francisco. *1876 - The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed. *1878 - Greece declares war on Turkey. *1880 - The first electric streetlight is installed in Wabash. *1882 - The Knights of Columbus are formed in New Haven. *1887 - In Punxsutawney the first Groundhog Day is observed. *1899 - The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia's capital (Canberra) between Sydney and Melbourne. *1901 - The Funeral of Queen Victoria. *1920 - Tartu Peace Treaty signed between Estonia and Russia. * 1920 - France occupies Memel. *1925 - Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race. *1933 - Adolf Hitler dissolves the German Parliament. *1935 - The polygraph machine is tested for the first time. Leonard Keeler conducts the experiment in Portage. *1940 - Frank Sinatra debuts with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra. *1943 - World War II: The last German forces surrender to the Soviets after the Battle of Stalingrad. *1945 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill leave to meet with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference. *1952 - A tropical storm forms north of Cuba and moves northeast making landfall in Florida. It is the earliest reported formation of a tropical storm on record in the Atlantic basin. *1957 - President Iskander Mirza of Pakistan lays the foundation-stone of the Guddu Barrage across river Indus near Sukkur. *1966 - Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir dispute as number one item for the proposed Indo-Pak ministerial talks after 1965 war. *1967 - The American Basketball Association is formed. *1971 - After a coup in Uganda, Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader. *1972 - The British embassy in Dublin is destroyed in protest over Bloody Sunday. *1974 - The F-16 Fighting Falcon flies for the first time. *1976 - Groundhog Day gale of 1976 hits the north-eastern United States and south-eastern Canada. *1980 - Abscam: Reports surface that FBI personnel were targeting members of the U.S. Congress in a sting operation. * 1980 - Founding congress of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Turkey. *1982 - Hama Massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama and kills thousands of people. *1989 - Soviet war in Afghanistan: The last Soviet Union armored column leaves Kabul, ending nine years of military occupation. * 1989 - Satellite television service Sky Television plc launched in the Europe. *1990 - Apartheid: In South Africa President F.W. de Klerk allows the African National Congress to legally function again and promises to set Nelson Mandela free. *1998 - A Cebu Pacific Air DC-9-32 crashes into a mountain near Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, killing 104. *2002 - Wedding of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands to the Argentinean born Máxima Zorreguieta in Amsterdam. * 2002 - Foundation of Eurodoc, the European Council for Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers, in Girona (Spain). *2006 - An aging Egyptian passenger ferry carrying more than 1,400 people sinks in the Red Sea off the Saudi coast. Births *1208 - James I of Aragon (d. 1276) *1455 - King John of Denmark (d. 1513) *1494 - Bona Sforza, queen of Sigismund I of Poland (d. 1557) *1502 - Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher (d. 1574) *1506 - René de Birague, French cardinal and chancellor (d. 1583) *1522 - Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician (d. 1565) *1600 - Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (d. 1653) *1613 - Noël Chabanel, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1649) *1621 - Johannes Schefferus, Alsatian-born humanist (d. 1679) *1649 - Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730) *1650 - Nell Gwynne, English actress and royal mistress (d. 1687) *1669 - Louis Marchand, French organist and harpsichordist (d. 1732) *1695 - William Borlase, English naturalist (d. 1772) * 1695 - François de Chevert, French general (d. 1769) *1700 - Johann Christoph Gottsched, German writer (d. 1766) *1711 - Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, Austrian diplomat (d. 1794) *1714 - Gottfried August Homilius, German composer (d. 1785) *1717 - Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790) *1754 - Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, French politician (d. 1838) *1786 - Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician (d. 1856) *1802 - Jean Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist (d. 1887) *1803 - Albert Sidney Johnston, American Confederate general (d. 1862) *1829 - Alfred Brehm, German zoologist (d. 1884) *1841 - François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss hydrologist (d. 1912) *1842 - Yulian Vasilievich Sokhotski, Russian mathematician (d. 1927) *1849 - Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet (d. 1921) *1851 - José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican artist (d. 1913) *1861 - Solomon R. Guggenheim, American art collector and philanthropist (d. 1949) *1873 - Konstantin von Neurath, German foreign minister 1932-1938 (d. 1956) *1875 - Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist (d. 1962) *1878 - Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer (d. 1955) *1881 - Orval Overall, major league baseball pitcher (d. 1947) *1882 - James Joyce, Irish author (d. 1941) *1887 - Ernst Hanfstängl, German pianist and politician (d. 1975) *1888 - Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (d. 1969) *1889 - Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general, posthumous Marshal of France (d. 1952) *1890 - Charles Correll, American actor (d. 1972) *1893 - Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1974) * 1893 - Raoul Riganti, Argentine racing driver (d. 1970) *1895 - George Halas, American football player, coach, and league founder (d. 1983) *1896 - Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980) *1897 - Howard Johnson, American hotelier (d. 1972) * 1897 - Aimé Avignon, France's former oldest living man (d. 2007) *1900 - Willie Kamm, MLB third baseman (d. 1988) *1901 - Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian violinist (d. 1987) *1905 - Ayn Rand, Russian-born author and philosopher (d. 1982) *1908 - Wes Ferrell, All-Star MLB pitcher (d. 1976) *1909 - Frank Albertson, American actor (d. 1964) *1912 - Burton Lane, American composer and lyricist (d. 1997) *1913 - Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor (d. 1985) *1914 - Eric Kierans, Canadian politician and economist (d. 2004) *1915 - Abba Eban, Israeli diplomat (d. 2002) * 1915 - Stan Leonard, Canadian professional golfer (d. 2005) *1916 - Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet (d. 1985) *1918 - Hella S. Haasse, Dutch writer *1923 - James Dickey, American poet and author (d. 1997) * 1923 - Bonita Granville, American actress (d. 1988) * 1923 - Red Schoendienst, baseball player and manager, and eventually Hall of Famer * 1923 - Liz Smith, American gossip columnist *1924 - Elfi von Dassanowsky, Austrian-American producer and musician *1925 - Elaine Stritch, American actress *1926 - Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French politician *1927 - Stan Getz, American musician (d. 1991) *1928 - Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham, civil rights activist and author (d. 1998) *1931 - Dries van Agt, Dutch politician * 1931 - Les Dawson, British comedian (d. 1993) * 1931 - Judith Viorst, American author *1932 - Robert Mandan, American actor *1933 - Than Shwe, ruler of Myanmar * 1933 - Tony Jay, English actor (d. 2006) *1937 - Tom Smothers, American musician and comedian * 1937 - Don Buford, All-Star MLB outfielder *1939 - Akbar Adibi, Iranian scientist, father of electronics in Iran (d. 2000) *1940 - David Jason, English actor *1942 - Graham Nash, American (British-born) rock musician *1944 - Karen Foss, American broadcaster * 1944 - Geoffrey Hughes, British actor *1945 - David Friedman, American economist *1946 - Alpha Oumar Konaré, ex-president of Mali *1947 - Farrah Fawcett, American actress *1948 - Al McKay, American guitarist and songwriter (Earth) *1949 - Brent Spiner, American actor * 1949 - Ross Valory, American musician (Journey) * 1949 - Francisco Maturana, Colombian football manager *1952 - Genichiro Tenryu, Japanese professional wrestler *1954 - Christie Brinkley, American model * 1954 - Hansi Hinterseer, Austrian singer, actor, former skier * 1954 - John Tudor, MLB pitcher *1956 - Jim Neidhart, WWE *1958 - Michel Marc Bouchard, Quebec playwright *1960 - Jari Porttila, Finnish sports journalist *1961 - Lauren Lane, American actress * 1961 - Steve Penney, National Hockey League goaltender *1962 - Andy Fordham, English darts player * 1962 - Paul Kilgus, baseball player *1963 - Eva Cassidy, American singer (d. 1996) *1965 - Carl Airey, English footballer * 1965 - Naoki Sano, Japanese professional wrestler *1966 - Andrei Chesnokov, Russian former tennis player * 1966 - Robert DeLeo, American musician (Stone Temple Pilots) *1967 - Arturs Irbe, Latvian hockey player * 1967 - Laurent Nkunda, Congolese general *1968 - Scott Erickson, MLB pitcher *1969 - Valeri Karpin, Russian footballer *1970 - Nikolaos Michopoulos, Greek footballer * 1970 - C. Ernst Harth, Canadian actor * 1970 - Jennifer Westfeldt, American actress * 1970 - Roar Strand, Norwegian footballer *1972 - Dana International, Israeli singer * 1972 - Melvin Mora, Venezuelan baseball player * 1972 - Tego Calderón , nominated reggaeton singer/rapper. *1973 - Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower *1975 - Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer * 1975 - Vaggelis Koutsoures, Greek footballer * 1975 - Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian hockey player * 1975 - Niclas Wallin, Swedish hockey player *1976 - James Hickman, British swimmer * 1976 - Lori Beth Denberg, American actress *1977 - Shakira, Colombian singer * 1977 - Libor Sionko, Czech football player * 1977 - Heather Martin, American gospel singer *1978 - Barry Ferguson, Scotish football player * 1978 - Eden Espinosa, American singer and stage actress *1979 - Fani Halkia, Greek hurdler * 1979 - Irini Terzoglou, Greek shot putter *1980 - Teddy Hart, Canadian professional wrestler * 1980 - Oleguer Presas, Spanish football player *1981 - Jason Kapono, American basketball player *1982 - Han Ga In, South Korean model/actress * 1982 - Sergio Castaño, Spanish footballer * 1982 - Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player *1983 - Jordin Tootoo, Canadian hockey player * 1983 - Carolina Klüft, Swedish athlete *1987 - Martin Spanjers, American actor * 1987 - Gerard Piqué, Spanish football player *1992 - Danielle White, American singer Deaths *1124 - Bořivoj II of Bohemia *1218 - Konstantin of Rostov, Prince of Novgorod (b. 1186) *1250 - Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216) *1461 - Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty of England *1529 - Baldassare Castiglione, Italian writer (b. 1478) *1580 - Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese retainer (b. 1558) *1594 - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer (b. 1525) *1648 - George Abbot, English writer *1660 - Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (b. 1615) * 1660 - Gaston, French politician (b. 1608) *1661 - Lucas Holstenius, German humanist (b. 1596) *1688 - Abraham Duquesne, French naval officer (b. 1610) *1704 - Guillaume François Antoine, French mathematician (b. 1661) *1712 - Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician *1714 - John Sharp, English Archbishop of York (b. 1643) *1768 - Robert Smith, English mathematician (b. 1689) *1769 - Pope Clement XIII (b. 1693) *1802 - Welbore Ellis, British statesman (b. 1713) *1895 - Archduke Albert, Austrian general (b. 1817) *1904 - William C. Whitney, American financier (b. 1841) *1907 - Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (b. 1834) *1918 - John L. Sullivan, American heavyweight boxer (b. 1858) *1922 - William Desmond Taylor, Irish film director (b. 1872) *1925 - Jaap Eden, Dutch skater and cyclist (b. 1873) *1926 - Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general (b. 1848) *1932 - Agha Petros, Assyrian nationalist leader *1942 - Daniil Kharms, Russian playwright (b. 1905) *1945 - Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German politician (b. 1884) *1948 - Bevil Rudd, South African athlete (b. 1894) * 1948 - Thomas W. Lamont, American banker; father or Corliss Lamont; great-grandfather of Ned Lamont (b. 1870) *1950 - Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician (b. 1873) *1956 - Charles Grapewin, American actor (b. 1869) * 1956 - Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876) *1957 - Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist (b. 1890) *1969 - Boris Karloff, English actor (b. 1887) *1970 - Lawrence Gray, American actor (b.1898) * 1970 - Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, English mathematician, writer and philosopher, Nobel laureate (b. 1872) *1973 - Hendrik Elias, Belgian politician (b. 1902) *1979 - Sid Vicious, English musician (Sex Pistols) (b. 1957) *1980 - William Howard Stein, Nobel laureate (b. 1911) *1982 - Paul Desruisseaux, French Canadian lawyer, businessman and politician (b 1905) *1987 - Castilho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1927) * 1987 - Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist (b. 1922) *1988 - Marcel Bozzuffi, French film actor (b. 1929) *1989 - Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater (b. 1951) *1990 - Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (b. 1934) *1992 - Bert Parks, American television host (b. 1914) *1995 - Fred Perry, British former tennis player (b. 1909) * 1995 - Donald Pleasence, English actor (b. 1919) *1996 - Gene Kelly, American dancer, actor, and director (b. 1912) *1997 - Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (b. 1913) * 1997 - Sanford Meisner, American actor (b. 1904) *1999 - David McComb, Australian musician (The Triffids) (b. 1962) *2002 - Paul Baloff, American singer (Exodus) (b. 1960) * 2002 - Claude Brown, American writer (b. 1937) *2003 - Lou Harrison, American composer (b. 1917) *2004 - Bernard McEveety, American film director (b. 1924) *2005 - Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905) *2007 - Vijay Arora, Indian film and television actor (b. 1944) * 2007 - Billy Henderson, American singer (The Spinners) (b. 1939) * 2007 - Joe Hunter, American pianist and bandleader of The Funk Brothers (b. 1927) * 2007 - Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (b. 1967) * 2007 - Masao Takemoto, Japanese gymnast (b. 1919) * 2007 - Eric von Schmidt, American folk/blues singer-songwriter (b. 1931) Holidays and observances * Ancient Latvia - Veja Diena observed. * Czech Republic - Hromnice. * France - Crêpe Day. * Paganism - Imbolc (in northern hemisphere), Lughnasadh (in southern hemisphere). * Scotland - A quarter day in the Christian calendar (due to Candlemas). * United States and Canada - Groundhog Day. * University of King's College - George III Day *Yemanja Celebration of Yemanja, the sea goddess. Liturgical feasts * Roman Catholicism - Candlemas, The Presentation of the Lord, The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, World Day for Consecrated Life (also February 3 in the United States). *St. Adelbald *St. Cornelius *Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic Church: Encounter of our Lord with Simeon - Major Feast Day * February 2 External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- February 02